Participants: Aaron Chancy (Host), Steven Rodford
Series Code: TNJ
Program Code: TNJ000008
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00:01 The following program discusses sensitive issues.
00:03 Parents are cautioned that some material 00:05 may be too candid for younger children. 00:11 Welcome to "The New Journey." 00:12 The program where we meet real life people 00:15 with real life testimonies, 00:16 with real life working ministries for Jesus. 00:18 Today, we'll meet a man 00:20 that spend more than half of his life incarcerated, 00:22 but now serve Jesus actively in prison ministries. 00:25 We learn how he found Jesus and how no matter the crime, 00:29 God does not forsake us nor leave us. 00:31 I'm your host Aaron Chancy. 00:32 Come join us on The New Journey. 01:03 Welcome back to the program. 01:05 Today our guest is Brother Steven Radford. 01:07 Welcome to the program. Brother Steven Radford. 01:09 Thanks for having me. Thank you. Thank you. 01:11 We're going to talk about two aspects in this testimony. 01:15 We gonna talk about your testimony 01:16 and also we gonna talk about 01:18 how you got involved with prison ministries. 01:21 First we're gonna start off with your early life. 01:23 What was your early life like? 01:24 Give us a background, some background information 01:27 on your early life? 01:28 Well, I'm from Birmingham, Alabama. 01:30 Okay. 01:31 And there were seven people in my family, my grandfather, 01:36 mother and father, had two older brothers. 01:38 Okay. And a younger sister. 01:40 Okay. 01:42 My grandfather was an alcoholic. 01:46 Okay. 01:47 My dad was also an alcoholic, a drug abuser. 01:53 He spent time in prison. 01:56 Was it tough as a young person 01:57 seeing your father as an alcoholic, 02:00 using drugs and seeing him away for prison? 02:02 Well, I didn't understand that it should have been tough. 02:05 I didn't know what actually to expect 02:07 because that was all I saw. 02:10 I thought that we were poor. 02:12 We lived in a house that 02:15 they used to call them double tinned-up houses. 02:17 They were like three rooms 02:19 and you could stand on the front porch 02:21 and look in the backyard. 02:23 But fortunately, my mother who is alive today, 02:27 I thank God for. 02:29 She demanded that my brothers and my sister 02:33 and I attend the church. 02:34 And we did up until we decided that 02:39 we didn't want to go to church anymore. 02:41 Okay. 02:43 And in the neighborhood that I grew up in, 02:46 there was vice all around. 02:48 There was whiskey drinking, gambling 02:51 and so you could say truthfully that my environment 02:55 had an effect on some of the choices that I made. 02:59 Okay. Okay. 03:00 So you grew up kind of in a rough environment. 03:02 There were things going on around 03:04 that the drinking, the drugs, 03:06 so many different things that going on, 03:08 your neighborhood was a rough area. 03:09 Was it tough growing up in this particular area? 03:13 You know, contrary to problem opinion, it actually it wasn't. 03:18 Most of the people in the neighborhood 03:20 were kind of like family. 03:21 Okay. Everybody knows everybody. 03:22 Everybody knows everybody, 03:24 but everybody was doing their own thing 03:26 and nobody got in anybody else's business. 03:28 Okay. 03:29 But I didn't have to deal with gangs or bully, 03:33 any type of bullying and things of that nature. 03:36 Now, you stated that you were going to church at a early age. 03:39 Was your home a Christian home? What was it like for you? 03:44 Was your mother around 03:45 and going to church things like that? 03:47 Yeah, she, my mother is a Sunday church goer. 03:52 And she went every Sunday 03:55 and her rule was that we would go too. 03:58 Okay, if she go, you go. 03:59 Yes. Okay. 04:00 And so we were like go to church every Sunday, 04:02 you know, I really thank God for her 04:05 because I understand the Bible 04:07 when it says in the Book of Isaiah 55 04:11 that the word of God 04:12 will not return to Him void, 04:14 but would accomplish what is being sent out to do. 04:18 I made-- I begin to violate the law of God 04:22 very early in my life. 04:24 I started smoking when I was about 10 years old. 04:27 I started drinking when I was about 10 years old. 04:30 I was smoking marijuana at 12 04:33 and about the time I was 14 years old, 04:36 I believe I was an alcoholic. 04:38 Okay. Okay. Okay. 04:39 So you were on several different types of drugs. 04:42 You were on marijuana, you were on alcohol, 04:45 you were smoking cigarettes at the time. 04:47 Was it hard to cope with all those things 04:50 in the system because it's foreign to the body? 04:52 Was it hard on the mind? 04:54 Was it hard on the body taking these different drugs? 04:56 What was the feeling of it? 04:58 Well, it was a feeling of excitement, glee out, 05:03 you know, most of the times what it did was 05:05 what I wanted to do. 05:07 As a matter of fact, I was taking 05:09 different kinds of pills. 05:11 In that particular time, they had pills 05:13 that would take you up 05:14 which was described as P and PO that will take you down 05:19 which would kind of put you to sleep. 05:21 So I was into, you know, just all over it. 05:25 You know, I really get into it 05:26 because I was dare by one of my peers 05:32 and because of that, 05:35 I found myself doing things 05:37 that other people expected me to do 05:42 and not doing what I knew was right to do. 05:45 You know, I can testify to the fact 05:46 even in my own life, 05:48 you mentioned some of the drugs are upper, 05:49 some of the drugs are down earth. 05:50 You know, and I spent so much time 05:52 on a lot of the upper drugs, 05:54 I took some down earths as well 05:56 but you know, you tend to see people out there on the streets 05:59 that kind of look like zombies 06:01 where their eyes are really beady, 06:03 hair is all types of different way, 06:04 looks like they've been up, you know, for weeks at a time. 06:07 And I can testify to the fact 06:09 that on all these types of uppers, 06:11 it is to have you awake for days at a time. 06:14 Did you ever experience that in your own life? 06:16 Yes, I did. 06:18 And if you noticed there was a progression. 06:19 Yeah. Yeah. 06:21 I started smoking. Okay. 06:22 And then I started drinking. Yeah. 06:24 It's like one leads to the next. 06:26 One leads to another. 06:27 It's like, you're looking for something else 06:30 that you're not getting from the one 06:32 that you started with. 06:33 And you know that's where I was, 06:36 just trying to find something that I could really never take. 06:39 Okay, now, eventually 06:41 you got involved in criminal activities. 06:44 Speak a little bit about what criminal activities 06:46 you were involved in 06:48 and eventually you were incarcerated. 06:49 Talk a little bit about those instances? 06:52 Well, I-- the first time I think I remember doing 06:56 something actually wrong was I stole some money 06:59 that was placed in the house. 07:02 Okay. 07:04 You start out with something simple, didn't you? 07:05 Well, no, it wasn't really simple, 07:07 I just thought it would. 07:08 And it just kind of like gravitated to other things. 07:12 Now, I was in school and you know, 07:15 I was getting my lesson, I was passing my grades. 07:17 Matter of fact I graduated from high school 07:20 and I went on to do a stint in United States Air Force. 07:23 But all the time I was smoking and drinking. 07:28 While you were in the military? While I was in the military. 07:30 My criminal activity was not that much. 07:34 Okay. 07:36 I was arrested for being with my older brother once 07:41 when I was about 16 years old. 07:43 And later on, you know, I was released. 07:47 Okay. 07:49 But as far as you know me just being active, 07:52 you know, in the criminal element 07:53 that I grew up in the streets. 07:55 And I live by the rules of the streets. 07:58 And so therefore for me it really wasn't nothing 08:02 that I probably wouldn't have done. 08:04 Because the drugs and alcohol had just numb me 08:08 to the values that we have in society. 08:11 Oh, yes, you know, I know how-- 08:13 you know, a lot of people get involved in crime 08:15 and you know, I did myself, 08:16 I didn't start off with something big, 08:18 I didn't start off with grand theft auto, 08:20 I started off with something simple 08:21 as a small charge, just take a little toy from the store. 08:24 Take a little candy from the store 08:25 and things like that. 08:26 And what happen is it became a habit, 08:28 it became a habit, it became something 08:30 like you get a thrill out of doing this thing. 08:33 And next thing you know 08:34 you lead the way to bigger things. 08:36 You start taking the cars, you start breaking into houses, 08:39 things like that. 08:40 so a lot of times, it's like this tumbleweed effect in life. 08:43 We start off with something small just like with drugs, 08:45 we may start off with what they call the gateway 08:48 to all marijuana and then we say, 08:50 well, you know, what I want to progress, 08:51 I want something a little better. 08:53 I want some more thrill out of it. 08:54 and then it leads to way to different drugs, 08:56 different types of crime, things like that. 08:59 You know, now eventually you serve some time in prison, 09:02 I want to spend a little bit of time here 09:04 talking about your prison time. 09:07 How long did you actually spend in prison? 09:09 I spend a total of 31 years. 31 years. You know what? 09:13 That's longer than I've been alive, 31 years. 09:16 How was it being in prison for 31 years? 09:20 Well, to begin with I was in prison 09:23 because there was a life taken. 09:27 And I did not do anything to prevent to take another life 09:34 and when I was asked a question by the authorities, 09:37 I lied about it. 09:38 I was arrested and then I was deemed as guilty 09:41 as the person that actually committed the crime. 09:45 Thirty one years in prison is-- 09:49 are you talking about 31 years of somebody telling you 09:52 what to do, what to wear, when to eat, 09:55 where to go and you know, at times 10:00 I thought that the possibility of me not able to getting out, 10:04 you know, was a reality. 10:07 Now, what was your original sentence? 10:09 What were you originally sentenced to. 10:10 My original sentence was life in prison. 10:13 Life in prison. 10:14 With the possibility of parole. 10:15 Is even a testimony that you're even out right now 10:18 because there is a possibility there is that small possibility 10:21 where you could still be 10:22 incarcerated to this day, right? 10:24 Absolutely, I noted the only reason 10:26 that I'm out right now 10:28 is because of the love and power of God. 10:31 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 10:32 So what year did you get incarcerated in? 10:36 I was arrested in April of 1975. 10:40 And I was released in April 2006. 10:45 Now to from 1975 to 2006 that is a large, large gap. 10:51 When you got out of prison, 10:54 how was it or how is it 10:56 still trying to read just to society 10:58 because when you went in, 10:59 that was a much slower pace society at that time. 11:02 Then you come out in 2006. 11:04 People got iPhones, iPads 11:05 and all these electronical things now. 11:08 How was it or how is it 11:09 readjusting to society even now? 11:11 Well, I gave my life to the Lord in 1990. 11:15 I was in the home 11:17 and that's prison inside of prison. 11:20 There you go, okay. 11:21 It's where they take people that have disciplinary problem 11:25 or take people there for their lives 11:27 or take people that they want to investigate. 11:29 I was on the investigation and during my time there, 11:33 I began to look at my life. 11:36 And it was not turning out like I wanted it to be. 11:39 Yeah. Okay. 11:40 And, you know, that's why I'm so thankful for my mom 11:44 because the word that she demanded 11:46 I go to church and get began to come alive in my life. 11:50 And, you know, I didn't know 11:53 at that particular time of any formal way to pray, 11:57 so I talked to God and I asked God to forgive me. 12:02 You know, I told Him that I wanted something 12:05 different in my life. 12:06 And, you know, the thing about God is that He doesn't wait 12:10 to answer our prayer. 12:12 What the Bible says 12:15 that "If you call on Me, I will answer you 12:18 and I will show you great and mighty thing." 12:21 When I pray, God answered me. Amen. 12:24 And He forgave me and then He began 12:27 to give me that new heart 12:29 that the Bible talks about in Ezekiel. 12:31 You know, the Bible also talks about 12:33 if any man be in Christ, in Him, 12:35 2 Corinthians 5:17, he is the new creature. 12:38 So God began to transform my mind. 12:41 Okay. 12:43 And so my attitude began to change, 12:45 my talk began to change. 12:47 The people that I was around began to change. 12:50 You know, God began to come alive for me in my life. 12:54 In your own personal life? In my personal life. 12:55 Okay. Okay. 12:57 You know, I think one of the reason 12:58 I had stayed away from Christianity 13:00 and accept Jesus Christ as my Lord 13:02 and Savior was because of what I was seeing. 13:05 I was seeing people that were saying they were serving God. 13:09 And they were doing another thing. 13:11 Absolutely. Okay. 13:12 So that was kind of hard on you, you're seeing this. 13:13 You know, even in my own instance, 13:15 I remember growing up 13:17 and so many people would try to in essence save face. 13:20 They would go to church not because 13:22 they wanted anything out of church. 13:23 It was just basically, 13:25 I want to go just to kind of save face. 13:26 And here I'm, I'm drinking, smoking, 13:29 doing all these things like that. 13:30 And people would look down on me 13:32 because, well, you're coming to church, 13:34 you're doing all these things, 13:35 but then come to find out these ones 13:37 that were put on the front, 13:38 they were doing the same things as I'm doing. 13:40 But what they'd try to do is heave all the blame on me 13:43 all that you're bad, you're this, you're that. 13:46 Not knowing that they're doing the exact same thing 13:48 that I was doing. 13:50 That's why the world is saying today, 13:52 I'd rather see a sermon than hear one. 13:54 Oh, yeah, oh, yeah, exactly, 13:55 You know, it's much more powerful, 13:57 like I say action speak louder than words. 14:00 It's much more powerful 14:01 to see a person living the Christian walk 14:03 than just talking it and living totally different 14:06 than what their Christian life actually professes. 14:09 Now, in relation to the long period of time 14:13 that I was in prison. 14:15 When I got out of prison a lot things had changed. 14:19 Oh, yeah. 14:20 I mean I was riding in the car and they had changed so much 14:24 that I didn't know how to get out them. 14:27 And I had-- you know, I went to a place 14:29 to use the restroom 14:32 and, you know, normally the restroom had handles 14:38 so after I finished, 14:40 I was looking for the handle to flush it, 14:43 but I didn't see one, right. 14:45 And I didn't see one and thus, you know, began to look, 14:48 you know, over, so I just backed away and said, 14:50 well, maybe they'll come in. 14:52 Maybe they'll come in to flush them so. 14:54 And flush them so. 14:55 And when I backed away, you know, it flushed 14:57 and I went like wow, it's-- 15:01 I'm adjusting and I believe, you know, 15:03 God has given me an attitude of learning. 15:06 Since I'm born again, I'm a babe, 15:11 so there's a lot of things that I've got to learn 15:14 and God is, He has given me the patience, 15:16 you know, to be able to learn 'em, to sit back 15:18 to listen, you know, to be observant 15:21 and in just, you know, allow His Spirit 15:23 to manifest itself in my life. 15:25 Do you feel that after spending 31 years in prison 15:28 that you were institutionalize, 15:30 you know, you hear so many stories of people 15:32 that have spend time in prison and they come out, 15:35 it's hard to readjust. 15:37 Their mind state is prison, prison, prison 15:39 because this may have been all they known for years. 15:41 I know even for myself I spend a little time in prison 15:45 and when I got out, I was still in the same habits 15:47 of doing some of the same things 15:48 that I was doing while I was in prison, 15:50 in terms of eating with the spoon 15:52 instead of eating with the fork, 15:54 that's one of the habits I still have to this day. 15:56 And even washing my clothes and the showers 15:58 and the toilets things like that. 16:00 It took me a little bit to readjust to being 16:01 able to wash my own clothes myself. 16:04 Was it similar to you, for you for that? 16:06 In my case, I had to say no. 16:08 and the reason I do is because while I was incarcerated. 16:13 At course I just mentioned that I gave my life to the Lord. 16:16 And what God did was enabled me 16:19 to see reality for exact what it is. 16:23 And when He did that, you know, 16:25 I began to not do time but use it. 16:28 Okay. Great. 16:30 And that's where I think narrow minds come from 16:31 when we just do time. 16:34 I began to read 16:36 and try to be aware of the going zones 16:38 in the world. 16:39 And so and then you'll have to get out, 16:43 I had a good support system. 16:44 Amen. Amen. 16:45 My family was there and the church was there 16:48 and my spiritual family. 16:49 You know, I had a lot of people 16:51 that were there to hit me along the way. 16:53 There's only one thing that I used to do that I still do. 16:57 What's that? 16:58 And that's I have a tendency to go to bed early 17:01 and get up early. 17:02 Nothing wrong with that. I love going to bed early. 17:04 Nothing wrong with that. That's great. 17:05 You know, being in prison, they tell you 17:07 when to go to bed, 17:08 what time to eat, when they get dressed, 17:10 it's a lot of rules of, you got to do this 17:12 at this time, this time, and this time. 17:14 And, you know, when you come out to society, 17:16 you're still in those same 17:18 kind of habits for little while. 17:19 So I could testify to that fact as well. 17:21 You know, now what's interesting is 17:23 while you were prison in 1990 you started to read, 17:27 God started to open up your mind, 17:28 you started to draw closer to Jesus Christ. 17:30 He was working on you. He was changing you. 17:32 Now, you're actively involved in prison ministries. 17:35 I want to spend some time 17:37 with your involvement in prison ministries. 17:39 You work with UPMI Ministries, can you, can you delve 17:41 into that information a little bit? 17:43 Well, when I gave my life to the Lord, 17:46 I was really on fire. 17:48 I wanted to tell everybody about Him 17:51 and tell about the love and forgiveness that He has, 17:53 so I start to read my Bible, 17:55 and I start to go to church every night in prison, 17:58 they had service every night. 18:00 My problem was that I was hearing different ideologies. 18:04 I was hearing different doctrine. 18:06 I was hearing things that was not in line 18:08 with the word of God. 18:10 And one day I was in the prison 18:12 and I told one of the other Christian guys 18:15 about my predicament and he invited me 18:19 to United Prison Ministry International Bible study. 18:22 And I went to that Bible study, 18:25 and the first thing I heard of 18:27 when I went is I want you to know, 18:30 that you cannot trust me. 18:33 The founder Richard Bland, that's what he said, 18:36 and when he said that I kind of sat up in my seat 18:39 because in the world you can't trust people. 18:42 Yeah. Yeah. 18:43 Now, here it is, I have a Christian telling me 18:46 that I can't trust him. 18:48 But the thing about it was that 18:50 he supported it with what the Bible say. 18:53 You know, United Prison Ministry 18:54 International's motto is we go by the book. 18:58 And when he went into the Bible 19:01 and he use a scripture to show us that, 19:04 you know, the Bible say you can't trust man 19:07 and the Bible says to trust God. 19:09 So when he did, you know, 19:11 I knew that I was in the right place to hear 19:15 and learn some truth of the word of God. 19:17 Okay. Okay. 19:19 So you met Richard and Carolyn Bland 19:21 while you were actually in prison. 19:23 These are the leaders 19:24 of United Prison Ministries International. 19:26 How long now when you got out in 2006, 19:29 how long has it been now since you've been working 19:31 with United Prison Ministries International? 19:33 For five years. For five years. 19:35 Okay, so immediately when you got out, 19:36 you started working with UPMI Ministries. 19:38 Almost immediately. About 90 days after I got out. 19:41 Now, were you baptized while you were in prison 19:44 or did you get baptized when you came out of prison? 19:46 I got baptized when I got out of prison. 19:48 Okay. 19:49 I want you to talk a little bit 19:51 about that experience of baptism, 19:52 the feeling that you feel going down 19:53 into that watery grave. 19:55 What does it feel like getting baptized? 19:57 Let me tell to you 20:00 how I believe I got out of prison. 20:02 Okay. 20:03 When I was in prison, you know, I questioned God. 20:07 I often time asked Him, what's going on 20:09 and I was reminded that God's love 20:14 the Ten Commandments is my gauge, 20:17 that's my standard I'm to live. 20:19 But I noticed that I was not abiding 20:22 by one of those laws and that was God's Sabbath day. 20:26 And when that was revealed to me, 20:28 I began to set aside God's Sabbath day 20:32 for fellowship and worship with him. 20:35 And when I-- when I stood up for God, 20:38 He stood up for me. 20:39 And then I was released from prison. 20:41 Amen. Amen. 20:42 I know that had to be a great feeling, 20:44 a great feeling, trusting in the Lord, 20:46 seeing where the Lord will take you 20:48 and even being involved in ministry right now. 20:50 It's amazing what the Lord will do, isn't that right? 20:52 Absolutely. 20:53 So I get out of prison 20:55 and I began to search for a home church. 20:59 And I found a church in the city 21:02 I was living in Birmingham and I went in, 21:05 I was really greeted with a lot of love. 21:07 It was a Seventh-day Adventist church. 21:11 And the reason I had, you know, 21:13 ended up at that church is because 21:16 the Seventh-day Adventist 21:18 are living the truth in accordance 21:21 to what I understand the Bible to say. 21:23 Okay. 21:24 And so I went to this church 21:25 and I was just welcomed with open arms 21:27 and, you know, people loved me and, you know, 21:30 I began to go on a regular basis 21:32 and even God told me, you know, Jesus has set the example, 21:36 you need to be baptized. 21:38 Okay. 21:39 And so I talked to, you know, the elders in the church 21:41 and I was baptized and I'll tell you, 21:43 right now I'm so excited. 21:46 And, you know, it has been described as a watery grave. 21:52 Okay. Yeah. 21:53 And I knew that when I went down in that water 21:56 and when I came up, 21:57 that my whole life in being would be different. 22:01 Okay. 22:02 Yeah, I mean the excitement is a small word to describe 22:05 how I felt when I was baptized. 22:06 Oh, yeah. 22:08 I knew it was just like, you know, the heavens open 22:10 and God looked on Jesus and said, this is my son 22:13 in whom I-- I, you know, I experienced that too, 22:16 God loves me just that much. 22:18 So, you know, that's kind of excitement that I felt 22:21 when I was baptized. 22:22 You know, what's interesting in the Bible in Luke 15 22:24 it says that all a heaven rejoices 22:27 over that one soul that comes back to-- 22:29 comes back to God. 22:31 Now that's, when you think about that, 22:33 all a heaven rejoicing. 22:34 You read in the Book of Revelation 22:36 that is thousands of thousands and ten thousands 22:38 and thousands of thousands of angels. 22:40 So you think about a basketball game. 22:42 You got to NBA game or NFL game 22:45 and you see the 50,000 screaming fans there, 22:48 rooting for their favorite team to beat the other team. 22:51 And you take that and you say, hmm, 22:53 all a heaven is rejoicing over just one. 22:56 And you know it's way more than 50,000 screaming fans 22:59 for their team, but if all a heaven rejoicing 23:03 for that one soul that has come back to Jesus 23:06 and all the heaven was doing that for you. 23:07 All the heaven was doing that for me. 23:09 That is amazing. 23:10 So once you got out of prison, 23:12 you found a Seventh-day Adventist church in Birmingham, 23:14 how long was it before you got back to 23:16 where Richard and Carolyn Bland and started working with UPMI? 23:18 Approximately 90 days. Okay. 23:21 Well, in terms of my parole was that 23:25 I cannot leave the city that I was staying in for 90 days. 23:29 Okay. 23:30 God had already moved in my heart 23:33 and He also directed the Bland's to contact me 23:38 and they did and you know, prayerfully the season was, 23:41 you know, came upon prayerfully. 23:43 I went to work with United Prison Ministry International 23:47 after those 90 days were over. 23:48 Okay. Amen. Amen. 23:50 Now, United Prison Ministry International 23:52 is pretty extensive prison ministry 23:54 and you offer some resources, 23:56 the ministry offered some resources. 23:58 Can you talk a little bit about those resources 24:00 that the ministry has? 24:01 Sure, one of the most books and the most important book 24:04 I think that we provide is a Bible. 24:07 Okay. Okay. 24:09 Because this is our foundation. 24:12 This is the basis of everything that we stand on. 24:14 Remember, our motto is "we go by the book." 24:17 Go by the book. 24:18 And this is a precious promises edition 24:21 and in saying that, 24:23 the promises that God has made to us 24:26 in this particular edition is shaded. 24:29 We also offer a 32 lesson Bible study 24:34 that answer some of the-- most often asked questions 24:38 that we have as Christian and it revealed to us the truth 24:42 what does saith the Lord. 24:43 For example, it talks about the Sabbath day, you know, 24:47 and it touches on the State of the Dead 24:49 and ask somebody as about who committed the first sin 24:52 and some other. 24:53 We also offer the book The Desire of Ages. 24:56 Great book. Excellent. Excellent book. 24:59 If you're having problems understanding Jesus 25:02 and His life, read The Desire of Ages. 25:05 And we also have this small book, 25:08 Bible questions answered. 25:10 It's got 14 different lessons in it. 25:12 It also touches on the State of the Dead 25:15 and some other things so. 25:17 Okay. 25:18 This is just some and it isn't all the resource material 25:20 that we offer inmates throughout the country. 25:25 Okay. Now, those are some great resources that you have. 25:29 How can people get a hold of these particular resources? 25:32 They may want a Bible, they may want that book 25:33 Desire of Ages, 25:35 they may want some other material that you have. 25:37 How can people get these resources? 25:39 Well, they can email us at office@upmi.org. 25:44 Okay. 25:45 Or they can call us at 205-755-4744. 25:51 Or they can write us at United Prison Ministry International, 25:55 PO Box 8, Verbena, Alabama 36091. 26:00 Okay. Okay. 26:02 So do you encourage people to get a hold of this material? 26:04 This is like a must have, isn't it? 26:06 Absolutely. Okay. Okay. 26:08 Well, we get letters regularly from people 26:12 throughout, you know, 26:14 not just inmate, inmate's families 26:16 that telling us how this particular book 26:19 or lesson has helped them in their relationship 26:22 where God has revealed things in them, 26:24 helped them to understand the Sabbath and another things 26:26 about the truths of God's word. 26:28 Okay. Okay. 26:29 Now, what I want you to do is talk a little bit about 26:32 your feeling, just a few seconds of your feeling 26:34 of going back into the prisons now 26:36 and working with inmates. 26:38 You spent 31 years in there, now you're back in there 26:41 ministering to others. 26:43 Talk about that feeling? 26:44 Well, you know, there's a book on ministry of healing, 26:47 certain Ellen White wrote it on page 143. 26:51 She talks about Christ method being the best method. 26:55 So being able to go into the prisons 26:59 to connect with the people to understand their needs 27:04 and being able to provide for their needs. 27:06 You know, one of the most things 27:07 that people in prison want or need is love. 27:11 That's true. That is true. 27:13 Not necessarily a book, but they need our love. 27:16 But just going back in there is a blessing to me. 27:20 You know, sometimes we think we're doing that kind of work 27:23 that we're blessing others. 27:24 But God blessed me as He enabled me to go back in there 27:28 because it's strengthening for me. 27:29 It helps me to remember that I'm representing God. 27:34 And then I'm representing the whole lot of people 27:36 that are still incarcerated. 27:38 Amen. Amen. 27:39 I want you to look into the camera, 27:40 talk to the viewer right now they're struggling, 27:42 they needs a relationship with God. 27:43 Take about five seconds to talk about this? 27:47 I am a living witness and testimony to the power 27:52 and love of God. 27:54 And I'll say to you that if you are feeling hopeless, 27:59 if you feel like you have something 28:01 that you cannot be delivered from, 28:03 Christ is the answer. 28:06 Thank you so much, Brother Steven Radford 28:08 for being on the program. 28:10 We love to have you back sometime. 28:12 You've been watching the New Journey. 28:13 We encourage you to tune in next time 28:15 for more stories of amazing grace 28:17 and also powerful ministries for Jesus Christ. 28:20 Be blessed. |
Revised 2015-09-28